Oh, the places you’ll go (like Pasadena)

I’ve loved watching the Rose Parade ever since I was a little kid- you know, when they aired it without commercials and Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards were providing the commentary (wait, they still are? Wow.) And I’ve always wanted to see it in person, because it’s like the Grandaddy of All Parades, but somehow I never convinced anyone else it was worth giving up New Year’s Eve to go and line up at 4 am.

This year I was even more excited about the parade because the Grand Marshal is Jane Goodall, about whom I am reduced to a babbling fangirl. Last year= Paula Deen, which, you know, whatever, but JANE GOODALL! This is her response to being named Grand Marshal:

“My dream for this New Year’s Day is for everyone to think of the places we can all go if we work together to make the world a better place,” Goodall said. “Every journey starts with one step. And I am pleased to see the Tournament of Roses continue to take steps towards not only celebrating beauty and imagination but also a cleaner environment.”

Oh Jane, please live forever and if you can’t, do one of those Vulcan mind-melds on me and share all your knowledge before you go, ok?

With this in mind, when Natural Balance asked me last week if I’d like to attend the parade as their guest and sit in the grandstands and watch the parade live and in person, I squeed in delight, said yes, and informed my husband to cancel our other plans (fortunately, we had none because we’re old and boring.)

So hooray. What better way to ring in the New Year! Being a travel addict myself I can’t wait to see how people interpret the “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” theme in flowers and organic matter. I hope Jane’s float is covered in brown rice chimpanzees. One can dream, right?

The Natural Balance float this year is really special. Called “Canines With Courage”, it is inspired by the Military Working Dog Teams National Monument that is going to be unveiled later this year in Austin, the first time in US history an animal has been recognized with its own national monument.

In addition to having many military men, women and dogs riding the float, Natural Balance has donated 400 grandstand tickets to military members so they can see the parade live as well.

It’s an honor to be able to be there to recognize these heroes. I’ll be tweeting using #RosePets while I’m there, as long as it isn’t so cold my fingers still work. 🙂